(June 19, 2013)... In the fall of 2012, Rochester Knighthawks’ transition player Brad Self paired up with former Knighthawk and fellow Peterborough, Ontario native Shawn Evans to help grow the game they love. The duo started Nationwide Lacrosse, a company dedicated to the education of Canada’s national summer sport for youth players.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about, something we’ve wanted to do and it’s in our blood,” Evans said. “We’ve played lacrosse since we were young. We want to give back and try to grow the sport. We’re going to elementary schools in Ontario and we have summer camps scheduled already. We’re doing whatever we can to grow the game of lacrosse and get lacrosse out there and show them how to play.”

However, the National Lacrosse League stars don’t want to simply host camps in their hometown; their goal is to spread their lacrosse knowledge as far as possible.

“We formed Nationwide Lacrosse because we love playing and want to introduce more people to the game of lacrosse,” Self said. “Our goal is to do just that, and reach out to as many people as possible to introduce and teach them the game of lacrosse. We'd like to go ‘Nationwide’, whether that's across Canada, the U.S., or even the world.”

According to Self, Nationwide Lacrosse has nine different camps scheduled for the summer, and by the end of June, will have visited over 20 different schools.

“When I was a kid and had a pro athlete or a speaker, someone who has done something for their city or for their country, it’s something that you want to be,” Evans said. “We’re trying to be that. Kids look up to us and they want to be professional athletes. That’s a big goal for us. Hopefully, by going into schools and running camps, kids can take something from us.”

Both Evans and Self have a championship lacrosse pedigree. Evans was part of Rochester’s 2007 championship team, and after leading the NLL this past season with 112 points, won his first league MVP Award. Self won his second consecutive Champion’s Cup with the Knighthawks in 2013. With the Peterborough Lakers, the pair hoisted the Mann Cup most recently in 2012.

The motto for Nationwide Lacrosse is “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” Both players are thankful for the coaches and role models they had while growing up, and by sharing their lacrosse stories and passing down their skills, they hope to instill dreams of winning Champion’s Cups and Mann Cups in the next crop of professional lacrosse players.

“I always remembered meeting professional hockey players when I was a kid, and always remembered the guys who were humble, down to earth and who made themselves available to the kids,” Self said. “That is what we’re trying to do. When we mention the awards that both of us have won, it gets their attention. We also try to make everyone feel like ‘Why not you?’”

Although Self and Evans, who plays for the Calgary Roughnecks, go head-to-head in the winter during the NLL season, they are teammates with the Lakers in Major Series Lacrosse and close friends at home.

“We both love to compete and we both love to win,” Self said. “We know when it's game time, it doesn't matter what jersey we have on and who our opponent is, we are going to do what it takes to win. When the game is over, it's over and life goes on. I know I will probably go even harder playing against him now so I don't have to listen to him when we are on the road together.”